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Turkey Gun Build & Pattern

I like it. Mine
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Off in the weeds, but I’m a ML guy & that’s a sweet Encore pro hunter!
 
A couple years back I set to building out a Thompson Center Pro Hunter 20ga for turkeys. I couldn't find the red dot I wanted in stock before season started so I ended up buying a Truglo shotgun scope to get me through the season. I ended up really liking it and it's been very reliable and is also quite inexpensive.


I think this will be my 4th year with the same setup, and I've crushed a bunch of turkeys with it. Indian Creek/Haymaker choke. I shoot Federal TSS 7s. Deadly.

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I’ve really enjoyed my TC 20 gauge.
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I’ve really enjoyed my TC 20 gauge.
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My Turkey setup as well, blue pro hunter, black stock. ( not nearly as stealthy as that one) but it’s light & deadly, haven’t needed a follow up shot n a long time.
 
I use a bow for turkey hunting been at it for years. It's the only way I like to hunt them.

In a blind or out in open?. I chased them for a while with bow but got tired of having them in range and not being able to get drawn on them. I’ve killed one out of a blind with bow but that’s just not my preferred way to hunt them. Of course every time one is strutting in my decoys and turns away from me I wish I had my bow.


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In a blind or out in open?. I chased them for a while with bow but got tired of having them in range and not being able to get drawn on them. I’ve killed one out of a blind with bow but that’s just not my preferred way to hunt them. Of course every time one is strutting in my decoys and turns away from me I wish I had my bow.


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I use a blind smoetimes and smoetimes I don't.
 
I use a bow for turkey hunting been at it for years. It's the only way I like to hunt them.


I've taken two with a recurve but it ain't easy. None with a compound but it's what I've been carrying mostly.
 
The nice thing about the red dot as appossed to a scope is that if the bird comes in from the wrong side and you switch hand sides to shoot as long as the dot is on the wattles dead bird and I have shot them in some weird positions lol Swing gun both eyes open for good field of view dot on head pull trigger.
 
Every year I say I'm going turkey hunting. I never do.

Well, this year I'm 2 boxes of TSS, a turkey choke, and a push-botton call deep in it so I'm definitely going hunting! I just went and blew $40 on shooting 5 rounds of TSS at paper and this is what I learned.

The Carlson's .640 TSS Turkey choke is a little tight for my liking out of a 28" Mossy 500 12 gauge with #9 TSS. I really preferred my Carlsons .700 Long Range Delta Waterfowl choke. It put like 90 pellets in an 8" circle at 50 yards vs 50 for the tighter tube.

But...

The TSS choke was also patterning fairly low and a bit right. I patterned for waterfowl last year and #4 steel seemed to do fine. POA and POI were about perfect. I'm not sure if it's the choke, or the difference between me pointing the gun and aiming it. So...

What are y'all's thoughts on springing for a red dot scope? I'd probably just mount and sight it in for turkeys, and then go back to a single, largeish fiber optic bead for waterfowl. Or should I just figure since I'm patterning low to aim right at his eyeball and pepper his neck area?

I'm not against spending the money on the optics and more TSS to get this right. I'm not spending any other money on turkey gear this year with the exception of gas money to drive to some good spots. I just wanna make sure when I stumble across one I can smack 'em good.

What says the hive mind?
MY 2cents. use your beads. getting a red dot perfect with TSS gets really pricey! if you can find Longbeard XR 3in #6 make the switch. its so close in performance and $20 for 10 shells. You can sight that dot in without breaking the bank and be good to 50yds all day. carlsons makes a xr choke thats .660 so the waterfowl choke should give you a little wider spread but i dont like shooting past 40 anyway. inside 20 with a really tight choke can be a miss if youre not dead on.

I love turkey hunting more than deer now. a lot more action once you figure em out. and it adds some variety to your trophy wall! another nice thing about your area will be NO MOUNTAINS. They can move up a hill so easy it makes your head spin. Find the scratchin. DONT OVER CALL... he knows exactly where you are and if he shuts up be patient. he will come to you. If you keep calling hes gonna get pissed and give up. hens naturally come to him so it can be tricky. when i first started i screwed up so many times over calling when he was already on his way.
 
anyone with an astigmatism with a red dot had success with a green dot?
 
MY 2cents. use your beads. getting a red dot perfect with TSS gets really pricey! if you can find Longbeard XR 3in #6 make the switch. its so close in performance and $20 for 10 shells. You can sight that dot in without breaking the bank and be good to 50yds all day. carlsons makes a xr choke thats .660 so the waterfowl choke should give you a little wider spread but i dont like shooting past 40 anyway. inside 20 with a really tight choke can be a miss if youre not dead on.

If you are sighting in with just TSS shells ya that would be pricey. I shoot cheap loads until my gun is in the ballpark and then shoot one maybe two TSS shells to confirm. A few years ago I shot several cheap loads to see if one had a poi like the tss and when I found one almost identical at 20 yards I bought several boxes. I use these in the spring to make sure dot is on and then shoot the real deal to confirm its alot cheaper no way I would use TSS for the entire process even though I have my own trap and have loaded my own TSS for the past 10 years. Having said that I would not use TSS in a 12 gauge too many cheaper options that are quite adequate as you have mentioned. As far as a red dot I have shot bead, scope fiber optics and since I started to use the FF3 reflex site I would never give it up. Only thing I used to worry about was battery life but I put a fresh battery in each spring and have never had it run out. I hunt probably 45 days a spring and many of those hunts are all day with the sight on continuosly.
 
TSS is cheaper than an arrow and a broadhead, and I shoot fewer shotgun shells by far compared to arrows. If only I shot enough turkeys to be concerned about the cost of each trigger pull...
^THIS! My attitude is that I spend all this money on camo, gas, tags, etc. and time to just get a shot at a limited number of turkeys each spring; why would I reduce my chances of capitalizing in those moments just to save a few bucks on shells?? The odds of you killing more turkeys because you bought First Lite camo instead of RedHead camo from Bass Pro/Cabela's are pretty low, and that's way more expensive than spending a few extra bucks per shell, which actually can meaningfully increase your chances of harvesting a longbeard. Easy decision in my mind.
 
In case your are wondering why TSS is harder to find and more expensive, I may know someone that buys a little more than most. These are just the ones I've bought in the past couple of weeks, and have many more in storage (this is just my 20ga, have even more 12's)! That's about $350 on the table there, including shipping on a few of them. The answer to how many shells do you need is all of them.
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Holographic site might work for you, or prism site.

I’ve heard prism is the way to go with eyes like mine. Have tried a scope but didn’t like it much. For now I’m using the stock FO sights. Hopefully I’ll see how I like it this Saturday.


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In case your are wondering why TSS is harder to find and more expensive, I may know someone that buys a little more than most. These are just the ones I've bought in the past couple of weeks, and have many more in storage (this is just my 20ga, have even more 12's)! That's about $350 on the table there, including shipping on a few of them. The answer to how many shells do you need is all of them.
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Any shot you've got a box or two of 2 3/4 12 gauge you wanna part with? PM me
 

available as of this morning in some sizes
^THIS! My attitude is that I spend all this money on camo, gas, tags, etc. and time to just get a shot at a limited number of turkeys each spring; why would I reduce my chances of capitalizing in those moments just to save a few bucks on shells?? The odds of you killing more turkeys because you bought First Lite camo instead of RedHead camo from Bass Pro/Cabela's are pretty low, and that's way more expensive than spending a few extra bucks per shell, which actually can meaningfully increase your chances of harvesting a longbeard. Easy decision in my mind.
I've never shot TSS just because I have a stockpile of Longbeard XR i've used over the years. Is it the pattern or the fact that you can reach out 50yds and beyond OR both that makes it so desirable?
 
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